Lots and Lots of Pretty Things
Museums across the state provided us with letters, postcards, and other epistolary ephemera that paint a picture of yonder days in Texas at Christmastime.
From a handwritten letter detailing all the Christmas parties in Corsicana in 1887 to a typewritten note sent by a Captain stationed in Germany at the end of the Great War to his mother-in-law in Livingston, Texas, the correspondence below captures the highs and lows of the holiday season as experienced by Texans past.
From Maria Faison to her parents
About the Letter
Born in Tennessee in 1862, Maria Faison moved to La Grange about 1872 after her father inherited extensive property from his brother, Nathaniel W. Faison. Faison's home is now a house museum in La Grange. By 1877, Maria was sent to the Virginia Female Institute. The Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives has a collection of seventeen of her letters home in which she talks about her daily activities and it is apparent she loves the finer things in life. Against her wishes, she returned to Texas in 1882. She passed away on March 4, 1888 at 26.
Courtesy of the Fayette Heritage Museum and Archives.
Things to do in La Grange.
From Captain Embury Baccus to Mother Shine
About the Letter
Capt. Embury Baccus was serving in The American Expeditionary Force in Mayan, Germany. The letter was written on January 19, 1918 to "Mother Shine", his mother-in-law, Mrs Laduska Idola Kern Shine (1854-1931), who lived in Livingston, Texas.
The letter describes a difficult time in the USA, specifically in Texas, and his angst to be home to support the family. The Flu Epidemic is taking its toll, creating another fear of death permanently separating the family, in addition to WWI. Embury speaks of the Oil Boom going on in Texas at the present time, and of his desire to get home to participate.
Courtesy of the Silsbee Ice House Museum and Cultural Center
Things to Do in Livingston.
From Aunt Frances to her niece, Ruth
About the Letter
Ruth, the eldest of the two daughters of Homer and Edith Chambers, of Beaumont, Texas, was barely six years old when this card was received.
Courtesy of the Beaumont Historical Society
Things to Do in Beaumont.
From President Lyndon Johnson to David Read
About the Letter
Written one month after the assassination of President Kennedy, President Johnson speaks of the "somber sadness" at the White House.
President Johnson was a good friend of David Read, who was the editor of The Silsbee Bee, a local paper in Silsbee, Texas. David Read was active in LBJ's campaigns and he visited him many times at the LBJ ranch and other places. President Johnson flew his famous helicopter to Silsbee and both the plan and President Johnson were photographed there. David was invited to the "Howdy Dinner" on the day of the assassination. David's granddaughter donated a large collection of letters from LBJ to David Read to the Ice House Museum in Silsbee.
Courtesy of the Silsbee Ice House Museum and Cultural Center
Things to Do in Silsbee.
From Minnie to Babe
About the Letter
Letter from Minnie (no last name) to "Babe," dated December 30, 1887, in which she writes about her time in Corsicana and the New Year's and Christmas parties she has been invited to, as well as expressing thanks for gifts the recipient sent to her.
This letter is part of the collection entitled: Rescuing Texas History, 2014 and was provided by the Pearce Museum at Navarro College to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries.
Learn more about the Pearce Museum at Navarro College.
Things to Do in Corsicana.
Season's Greetings from the Station Hospital Detachment at Fort D. A. Russell
About the Object
Inside this card from the Station Hospital Detachment at Fort D. A. Russell in Marfa, Texas is the menu for the Christmas dinner that year. The Mess Officer was Major Elmer Darnell, who was also the Station Surgeon. The menu was prepared by Mess Sergeant David Belvin, and the cooks were PFC's First Class Ennis Young, Louie White, and Otis Young.
Courtesy of Museum of the Big Bend